Planning Commission Staff Report
Report Prepared by: Francisco Mendoza-Gonzalez, Senior Planner, Development Services Department
Title
SUBJECT: Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1335 (“Bellevue Ranch North Village 24”) initiated by Benchmark Engineering, applicant for Hostetler Investments, LLC, property owner. This application involves a request to subdivide approximately 17.90 acres into 55 single-family lots within a gated community. The lots would range in size from approximately 8,000 square feet to approximately 18,000 square feet. The subject site is generally located on the west side of G Street, south of E. Old Lake Road, within Planned Development (P-D) #42, with a General Plan designation of Low Density Residential (LD); *PUBLIC HEARING*.
ACTION: Approve/Disapprove/Modify
1) Environmental Review #24-41 (CEQA 15162 Findings)
2) Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1335
SUMMARY
The subject site is located west of G Street, south of E. Old Lake Road, as shown at Attachment B. The proposed subdivision would subdivide approximately 17.90 acres of land into 55 single-family lots within a gated community (Attachment C). The lots would generally range in size between 8,000 square feet and 18,000 square feet, with most of the lots being approximately 10,000 square feet.
This subject site is part of the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan and is commonly referred to as Village 24 (Attachment E). This subdivision would be the second phase of a gated community. The first phase of the gated community was approved in 2019 by the Planning Commission (Village 23 - 58 single-family lots on 23.20 acres) and is currently pending construction. Together Villages 23 and 24 would total 113 single-family lots within this gated community.
RECOMMENDATION
Planning staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve Environmental Review #24-41 (CEQA Section 15162 Findings) and Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map #1335 - “Bellevue Ranch North Village 24 ” (including the adoption of the Draft Resolution) subject to the conditions in Exhibit A and the findings/considerations in Exhibit B of Draft Resolution #4148 at Attachment A of Planning Commission Staff Report #25-077.
Body
DISCUSSION
Project Description
The subject site is located south of G Street, west of E. Old Lake Road as shown at Attachment B. The subdivision would be part of a gated community with vehicle access from G Street and Farmland Avenue. The single-family lots would generally range in size between 8,000 square feet and 18,000 square feet, with the majority of the lots being around 10,000 square feet. This subdivision map would be an extension of Bellevue Ranch North Village 23 which was approved in 2019 for 58 single family lots. In total, between Villages 23 and 24 this gated community would have 113 single family lots. A bike path would be constructed near the western boundary of the gated community, following Fahrens Creek spanning several miles between Nevada Avenue to Fahrens Park.
As shown on the northern portion of the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (Attachment E) the subject site is surrounded by a variety of uses. Directly south of the subject site, across Farmland Avenue, is El Capitan High School. To the west, across Fahrens Creek, is a school site reserved to be develop din the future. To the northwest, across Fahrens Creek, is approximately 20 acres of open space going north up to Nevada Avenue (future). This open space area would have two bike paths that meander north and west, converging along the western boundary of the subject site down to Fahrens Park.
Approximately 100 acres west of the subject site are designated either High to Medium Density Residential (HMD) which allows for 12 to 24 dwelling units per acre, or High Density Residential (HD) which allows for 24 to 36 dwelling units per acre. East of the subject site, across G Street, is Merced County jurisdiction with most of the land having a General Plan designation of Low Density Residential (LD) which allows for 2 to 6 dwelling units per acre.
Lot Details
The subject site is zoned Planned Development (P-D) #42 and has a General Plan designation of Low Density Residential (LD). The LD designation allows 2 to 6 dwelling units per acre. The proposed subdivision would have a density of 3.07 dwelling units per acre, which is within the range allowed for this designation.
As mentioned above, the subdivision includes a mixture of lot sizes generally ranging between 8,000 square feet and 18,000 square feet. However, the majority of the lots would be around 10,000 square feet (refer to the Tentative Map provided at Attachment C).
Surrounding uses as noted in Attachment B.
|
Surrounding Land |
Existing Use of Land |
City Zoning Designation |
City General Plan Land Use Designation |
|
North |
Agriculture |
Merced County Jurisdiction |
Low Density Residential (LD) |
|
South |
Residential |
Planned Development (P-D) #42 |
Low Density Residential (LD) |
|
East |
Residential/Agriculture (across G Street) |
Merced County Jurisdiction |
Low Density Residential (LD) |
|
West |
Undeveloped Land |
Planned Development (P-D) #42 |
School (SCH) and Open Space - Park Recreation (OS-PK) |
Background
On May 15, 1995, the City Council approved the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan and certified the Bellevue Ranch Environmental Impact Report (SCH #92102055). The BRMDP provided a vision and standards for the development of a 1,385-acre area that would include commercial, transit, and low- and high-density residential uses (northern portion of plan shown at Attachment E). This master development plan was recently updated with General Plan Amendment #17-02, with approval from City Council in early 2024. This General Plan Amendment was requested in part due to several biological constraints that limited development throughout certain parts of the master plan area. Modifications were made to some land uses which impacted the off-site improvements that would be required throughout the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan, such as street network and bridges. This amendment required updates to the City’s 2030 General Plan Environmental Impact Report which impacted the off-site requirements of the BRMDP.
Standards and Guiding Principles: As part of the approval of the Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan, Final Conditions of Approval and Final Guiding Principles were adopted that continue to apply to new developments within the Master Development Plan Area.
There are also a number of Mitigation Measures adopted as part of the Bellevue Ranch Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that would apply to all developments within the BRMDP area. This project would be required to comply with all previous approvals that are applicable to this project (Condition #5), including those that were altered due to General Plan Amendment #17-02 to the BRMDP.
Off-Site Infrastructure: The BRMDP includes a Minor Phasing Plan that lists off-site infrastructure (“Backbone Infrastructure”), such as bridges, roads and traffic signals to be installed with different phases. The BRMDP requires certain improvements to be done with each phase of development. The minor phasing plan is referred to as Table 6.1 (Attachment H). As mentioned above, this table was recently updated in January 2024 with the approval of General Plan Amendment #17-02 which changed some land use designations and circulation elements within the BRMDP. Table 6.1 defines which Village is responsible for certain “Backbone Infrastructure” improvements. Development of Village 24 may require that certain Backbone Infrastructure that is not contiguous be installed.
Findings/Considerations
Please refer to Exhibit B of the Draft Planning Commission Resolution at Attachment A of Planning Commission Staff Report #25-077.
ATTACHMENTS
A) Draft Planning Commission Resolution
B) Location Map
C) Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map
D) Bellevue Ranch Village 23 (Southern Portion of Gated Community Approved by Planning Commission in 2019)
E) Bellevue Ranch Master Development Plan (Northern Portion)
F) Section MMC 20.46.020 - Design Standards for Single-Family Dwellings and Mobile Homes
G) MMC 18.16.080 - Information Required (for Tentative Subdivision Maps)
H) BRMDP Table 6.1 (updated with General Plan Amendment #17-02)
I) Response from Utility Companies
J) Traffic Engineer Study for Entrances/Exits to the Gated Community
K) Environmental Review - Notice of Exemption and CEQA 15162 Findings
L) Presentation